1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to baseball pitching targets and in particular to a padded leather catcher's mitt which provides the sound of a ball being pitched into a catcher's mitt and also produces instant feedback of the velocity of the pitch both inside and outside of the strike zone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pitching is one of the most important aspects of the game of baseball. A good pitcher can win the game for a team. The pitcher is also the one who is constantly watched by the fans. Accuracy in pitching is a must and requires considerable practice to achieve the skill necessary to perform successfully as a pitcher.
Most pitchers do not have a catcher constantly available to allow them the amount of time required to develop and maintain a high level of expertise. While some other pitching targets have been developed to provide pitchers an opportunity to practice they often fall short of optimum effectiveness because some do not provide instant feedback about the exact velocity of the pitch, others are overly complex and expensive, and none provide the actual feel of pitching to a catcher because of the premium and realistic sound effect caused by the impact of the ball into the leather target. U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,240 issued Nov. 12, 1996 to Humboldt, discloses a baseball backstop for stopping baseballs thrown at the backstop and for audibly indicating whether a thrown ball has hit the backstop in a strike zone comprises a frame, a netting attached to the frame, a piece of material placed directly in front of the netting and attached to the netting and/or the frame, the piece of material is a relatively heavy deformable piece of material, such that when a thrown ball hits the piece of material, a popping or thumping noise is made by the ball hitting the piece of material indicating that the thrown ball is a “strike”, the thrown ball is stopped by the piece of material and falls to the ground in an area proximate to the frame for easy retrieval of the thrown ball, the netting is made of a meshed material such that when a thrown ball hits the netting alone, and not the piece of material, no popping or thumping noise is made indicating that the thrown ball is a “ball” and the thrown ball is stopped by the netting and falls to the ground in an area proximate to the frame for easy retrieval of the thrown ball.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,485 issued Feb. 5, 1985 to Macosko, shows a baseball pitching target comprising a rectangular peripheral tubular frame supported by support members staked to the ground and having a mesh backstop itself having an insert that represents such target indicia as the catcher's chest protector, shoulder pads, knee protector pads, and mitt. Pitched balls are collected in a compartmentalized ball receiving bag except for those pitched balls that miss the strike zone. Those missing the strike zone will be projected back toward the pitcher by the action of the spring-mesh structure of the backstop.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,621 issued Aug. 17, 1982 to Baker, shows a device for use in the practice of those sports involving the hurling or striking of a ball or other sport projectile toward a specified target. The device of the invention serves to safely arrest the flight of the projectile while informing the user of the exact point of impact of the projectile relative to a defined target zone. The target is a polymeric foam mat having a polymeric sheet bonded to its front face. The sheet removably carries target indicia. Apertures through the foam mat make up 40 to 50 percent of the total surface area of the mat. When a projectile strikes the sheet, an indentation, which lasts from 5 to 60 seconds, indicates the point of impact.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,883 issued Jun. 30, 1981 to Grimaldi, et al., is for a pitching target with ball return which indicates whether a baseball pitch is either a strike or a ball and, if a strike, the location of the strike, i.e.: outside corner. The ball return includes an inclined ball collecting trough for return of the thrown ball to the pitcher for reuse. The target includes a frame which supports a series of flap panels suspended in the same plane and within the frame. The panels are arranged in three rows and three columns. The panels in the central column are wider in the horizontal dimension than the two outside panels but have the same vertical dimension as the panels on each side thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,790 issued Sep. 26, 1961 to Pratt, claims an improved target for baseball and softball pitchers that allows a ball to rebound in the manner expected of a batted ball according to the whether the pitch is high, low, inside, outside or in the center. It provides an average strike zone that includes a planar portion centrally of the target and is bounded by rearwardly inclined border portions or panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,952 issued Mar. 10, 1981 to Playter, shows a pitching practice device consisting of a sheet of canvas or the like supported in a vertical plane, and having an aperture formed therein defining a strike zone, at which a baseball pitcher may pitch baseballs to develop his accuracy and control. For still greater accuracy and control, and to “catch” the balls, a canvas chute is attached to the rearward surface of the sheet, and divided into a plurality of sections each opening through the sheet aperture, for receiving and trapping any ball entering its opening. The sheet aperture is thus divided into zones for indicating, and recording, whether a pitched ball is “high”, “low”, “inside”, “outside”, or “down the middle”. The sheet is resiliently supported to prevent damage either to the device or to the ball. The device may also be adapted for use, with a set of playing rules, as a competitive game, particularly for children.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,567,384, issued Dec. 29, 1925 to Rectenwald, is for a pitching target that tilts to rebound the ball at different angles. It mentions a resilient portion of the strike zone target, which may be sandwiched behind a panel or on the front surface. Canvas may be stretched over the target strike zone and a coating of calcimine or other material covering the strike zone so that the point of contact of the ball would be visible.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,211 issued Aug. 8, 1995 to Drabowsky, indicates a target training system and method for baseball pitchers employing a target sheet mounted on a supporting structure so that a facing surface of the target sheet is vertical and a bottom of the target sheet is at ground level. Hitter shoulder level, waist level, and knee level lines are provided on the facing surface of the target sheet. First and second vertical boundary lines running from a top to a bottom of the sheet indicate a width of a strike zone. A plurality of boxes of differing colors and having differing sequencing indicia representing relatively high quality pitches are arranged in and around the strike zone. Regions having a white color within and near the strike zone and exclusive of the colored boxes are provided, the regions being exclusionary zones representing relatively poor quality pitches. Some of the boxes are subdivided to permit pitching to progressively smaller targets. Separate target sheets are provided for different skill levels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,125 issued Sep. 30, 1997 to Ross, shows a pitcher's practice cage consisting of a compactly-foldable fabric-covered tubular structure which provides a large ball-gathering area, within which hangs a target marked with areas whose striking “calls” the pitch, and a ball-collecting sloping back wall and floor which accumulates pitched balls. Bows which support the canvas cover, one bow rigidly- mounted on short left-and-right support members hinge-mounted closely adjacent to the bow so rigidly supported, permit the entire structure to be folded into a flat “package” for moving and storing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,731 issued Jun. 29, 1993 to Hanabusa, claims a device for catching a ball comprising a frame member constructed on the ground or the like, a net member put on the frame member, a mat member disposed substantially at the central part of the net member, the mat member having a strike zone defined thereon, a detection means for detecting the position of a pitched ball in the strike zone, and a display means for displaying the detected position of the ball. When the pitched ball collides with or passes through the strike zone, the detection means detects the colliding or passing position and has a judgment passed on the pitched ball as to whether it is a strike or ball in accordance with a baseball rule, and the judgment is displayed by the display means. Some devices for catching a ball further comprise a base member permitting the total weight of the device to be arbitrarily varied with a ballast such as water, sand, steel ball or the like, a pitch target shiftable after every pitch, and/or a ball return system for automatically returning the pitched ball to the pitcher.
What is needed is an inexpensive yet effective way to simulate the realistic and dynamic sound effect of pitching into a catcher's mitt with a clear indication of premium areas related to the strike zone and with instant feedback on the precise location of each pitch.